KOHLER, WI — Kohler Co. has opened its second U.S. Experience Center, this time located in the heart of West Hollywood, CA. The new KEC LAX joins the New York City KEC as the two American-based centers. There are seven total worldwide.
KEC LAX will serve the city’s bustling design scene by providing architects and designers hands-on access to the global offering of Kohler products, the company reports. It houses Kohler’s entire global product line available across the world – a first for both the industry and for the Kohler brand. This enables trade professionals to test fully functioning displays as needed and source Kohler products. On-site working products include showers, bathtubs, sinks and toilets. Kallista and Robern, two brands from the Kohler Co. decorative products sector, will also call KEC home.
“Each market where we’ve launched a Kohler Experience Center has been a design mecca in its own right, and each has received tremendous acclaim from both industry professionals and consumers, allowing them to connect with the Kohler brand and our products in a more personal and meaningful way,” said David Kohler, president and chief executive officer of Kohler Co. “It’s an exciting time to increase our support of the Los Angeles design community, and we look forward to collaborating on new projects, fostering new ideas and driving continued growth.”
Designed by architecture firm Marmol Radziner, KEC LAX embodies the city’s midcentury modern flair both inside and out. The two-story, 10,000-sq.-ft. space includes more than 20 bath vignettes and five full kitchen vignettes, as well as the Artist Editions Gallery. The Experience Center within KEC LAX is a private, by-appointment, immersive product trial space designed for customers to fully experience products.
To best serve design professionals, Kohler Experience Centers offer a new Kohler global specification service, which allows professional architects and designers working on international projects to have instant, hands-on access to all products across the entire Kohler global portfolio. A Kohler team of experts will be stationed on-site to help source and resolve complex plumbing projects both in the United States and around the world. By-appointment videoconferencing is also available, connecting customers with the full network of Kohler product experts across its international markets.
“The retail industry as a whole is rapidly evolving, and we see KEC at the forefront – addressing a tremendous need across the industry for a deeper knowledge and hands-on insight into how our products work that simply cannot be replicated in the digital space,” said Larry Yuen, Kohler Co. president of the global Kitchen & Bath Group. “The beauty of what we offer at each KEC is a seamless service experience to design professionals with both the ability to source and resolve all plumbing needs on a global scale from any KEC location.”
This article appeared originally in our sister publication Kitchen & Bath Design News